Los Alamos National Security, LLC will enter into a first-ever mentor-protégé agreement with TSAY Construction and Services, LLC, a small business 100 percent owned and operated by Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo (formerly San Juan Pueblo) located just north of Los Alamos.
The agreement with TSAY Construction & Services, LLC, is designed to help the company improve its ability to compete for contracts across the Department of Energy complex. Under the agreement, the Laboratory will provide technical assistance in marketing, proposal development, networking with potential customers, purchasing management, project management, and quality assurance.
The contract signing ceremony is scheduled for noon, Wednesday (August 1) at the Laboratory's University House. Director Michael Anastasio and officials of Ohkay Owingeh and San Ildefonso pueblos are scheduled to attend, as are representatives from TSAY Construction & Services.
"This agreement is very important to the Laboratory and our neighbors as it allows us to use our technical expertise to benefit a local small business over the long haul," said Laboratory Director Michael Anastasio.
"The Laboratory and Los Alamos National Security look forward to helping TSAY position itself for doing business with a number of potential clients," Anastasio added.
"Ohkay Owingeh through TSAY made a deliberate decision five years ago to invest and build our capacity to provide quality services to the federal government and their major sub-contractors," said Ohkway Owingeh Pueblo Governor Earl Salazar. "Building capacity and capability from the ground up has been challenging but this agreement makes the effort worthwhile and will allow us to continue our growth and capacity building as well as provide economic development opportunities for our pueblo and Northern New Mexico."
TSAY Construction & Services, LLC recently was named the DOE 8(a) Small Business of the Year at an award ceremony last month in Washington, D.C. TSAY Construction & Services, LLC was recently named the DOE "8(a) Small Business Contractor of the Year" at an award ceremony last month in Washington, D.C. Also, TSAY currently does remediation and demolition, facilities support services, and construction at the Laboratory, and with the Department of Energy, Department of Defense and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The TSAY-LANS mentor-protégé relationship is a Department of Energy program designed to encourage local community involvement and economic stimulation. Participants must submit a mutually agreed upon application for DOE approval.
In addition to this mentor protégé agreement, TSAY has initiated a separate agreement with San Ildefonso Pueblo that provides an opportunity to build San Ildefonso's business capacity. Under the agreement, TSAY will assist and mentor San Ildefonso in building capacity, equipping the pueblo to enter into the federal contracting market and eventually pursue work at the Laboratory.
"We have initiated what we are calling our own "Indian Mentor Protégé" agreement in order to assist our sister pueblo," said Governor Salazar of Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo.
"The fact that Ohkay Owingeh has developed a comprehensive and successful plan for economic prosperity, through TSAY Corporation, makes this opportunity practical for Pueblo de San Ildefonso. This partnership will provide Pueblo de San Ildefonso a 'road map' that allows us to build the capacity necessary to achieve a level of success that TSAY Corporation has been able to exemplify," said San Ildefonso Pueblo Governor James Mountain. "Pueblo de San Ildefonso is looking forward to growing an already longstanding relationship with our sister pueblo, Ohkay Owingeh."
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and the Washington Division of URS for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.